Steam Deck might not run Destiny 2, Apex Legends, and more

The Steam Deck might not be able to run Destiny 2, as well as slate of other popular online games. 

As first noted by PC Gamer earlier today on July 19, this appears to be an issue with the Steam Deck's operating system. As the Steam Deck will use the Linux-based SteamOS, some online games like Destiny 2 will be prevented from booting up properly due to anti-cheating software.

As PC Gamer notes, this is all according to ProtonDB, a site that claims the Steam Deck won't be able to run Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Playerunknown's Battlegrounds. These are some of the most popular games on Steam right now, and they all run the risk of being unable to run on the forthcoming Steam device.

However, there's a major caveat to this. Valve states on the official Steam Deck website that the device carries a new SteamOS, one which they're working to improve. Valve says that "we're vastly improving Proton's game compatibility and support for anti-cheat solutions by working directly with the vendors," so there is a chance that the Steam Deck's operating system could be updated to bypass this barrier presented by the Linux-based OS.

Elsewhere however, Valve previously stated that the Steam Deck comfortably "runs the latest AAA games." At the core of the new device there's a AMD Zen 2 APU working away, along with quad-core Zen 2 CPU running at 2.4 - 3.5GHz, 8 RDNA 2 CUs running at 1 - 1.6GHZ for the GPU, and 16GB of RAM all in all.

If you need to get up to speed on the news of the Steam Deck announcement, Valve revealed the portable gaming device last week as a way to take (almost) your entire Steam library on the go when it launches later this year in December 2021. The device carries a 7" 1280x800 touch-enabled LCD screen with a 60Hz refresh rate, and it also has a battery that can last anywhere between two and eight hours, depending on the intensity of the actual game you're playing. 

For a more detailed technical analysis of the exciting new portable project, head over to our how Valve's Steam Deck compares to the Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X.